Posted on 12/13/2022 7:00:32 AM PST by Red Badger
U.S. men's national team coach Gregg Berhalter reportedly almost sent midfielder Giovanni Reyna home from the 2022 World Cup due to a lack of effort in practice.
Berhalter mentioned he almost sent home a player from the tournament last week. The player in question is Reyna, according to the Athletic.
"In this last World Cup, we had a player that was clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field. One of 26 players, so it stood out. As a staff, we sat together for hours deliberating what we were going to do with this player. We were ready to book a plane ticket home, that's how extreme it was," Berhalter said at the HOW Institute for Society's Summit on Moral Leadership on Tuesday.
Speculation began immediately after Berhalter made the comments with the Athletic, followed by several other sports outlets reporting Reyna had shown lackluster effort during a scrimmage with Qatari soccer team Al Gharafa SC and in other practice sessions. The situation with Reyna, 20, reportedly became "untenable" and was "addressed multiple times."
Eventually, Reyna apologized to the entire team for his lack of effort, and the issue ended there, per the report. Reyna played for the entire second half of the game against the Netherlands after only playing near the end of the team's game against England.
Reyna's agent, Dan Segal, said he was "disappointed" the situation had been reported publicly in a statement to the Athletic.
"Gio obviously did not have the experience anyone hoped for at the World Cup. The situation, relationships, and interactions among parties are far more complicated than what has been reported. It is disappointing and disrespectful for certain parties to be commenting on private team matters publicly, especially when some do so without full knowledge of the facts and others do so in a self-serving manner. At this point, our view is that nothing more is gained by those associated with the national team turning on each other, and we plan no further comment on this matter," Segal said to the outlet.
The United States was eliminated from the 2022 World Cup in the round of 16 after losing to the Netherlands 3-1. The U.S., along with Canada and Mexico, will host the 2026 World Cup.
So ... how did he make the team in the first place?
Or, after making the team, did he accept an inducement to not play as well?
Why did the coach publicize this?
He STFU. Snitches get stitches…
I think the whole FIFA thing is just one big scam.
When I saw obviously African players on teams from northern Europe, I pretty much ignored the rest of the show..............
safe and effective
He made the team because at 20 years of age he's one of the best young attacking midfielders/wingers around, plays for Borussia Dortmund in Germany, and is definitely one of the big young talents on the US mens team. The problem wasn't that he didn't play well. The problem was that he didn't play, and apparently sulked about it. According to the coach he didn't put forth sufficient effort in practice, and thus this was an attitude issue from a young player who thought he would start - but didn't.
They have to have citizenship to play on a European national team.
True, but it’s like NFL, any team can hire any free agent and they move to their new ‘hometown’..............
Well, he better not be no LGBTQ person. That would be illegal.
Father played for US team in years past.
Are you trying to tell me that “Mbappe” and “Dembele” aren’t Gallic surnames?…
Claudio, correct?
Well, they could be Norwegian.................
Maybe he was upset because you wouldn’t put him in, coach! Might’ve done better with Gio in the game.
Twenty year old adulated athletes are immature and petulant. A successful coach must learn how to deal and manage these people. Vince Lombardi and Bill Belichick have done it best.
Crazy as it seems, they were both born in France. It's a different world, not only in the US, but everywhere.
Calling out players is pretty standard coaching. Especially young players. Usually by the time you go to public shame there’s already been a private talk, and a locker room discussion. Don’t try to coast on talent.
Their parents were Nigerians. I know their back stories.
Our different world is worse.
And Don Shula................
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